Chunk #89 — Results and discussion — Analysis of Akt/mTOR phosphoprotein pathway throughout the brain after chronic alcohol: Decreased expression of multiple mTOR/Akt phosphoproteins in 3xTg-AD alcohol-exposed mice (1-month post alcohol)
alcohol treatment and withdrawal (Faccidomo et al., 2019; Neasta, Ben Hamida, Yowell, Carnicella, & Ron, 2011; van der Vaart et al., 2018). Additional proteins in the mTOR/Akt pathway such as Akt, PTEN, p70S6K, RPS6, ERK1/2 and mTOR are targets of interest in understanding the pathogenesis of AD as this cell signaling pathway is an important modulator of cell growth and macroautophagy maintaining a balance critical to the health of cells (Norambuena et al., 2017; Pei & Hugon, 2008; Ro, Cao, Otto, & Kim, 2010). Overall, altered function of the Akt/mTOR pathway has been documented following acute and chronic alcohol exposure (Besheer et al., 2012; Faccidomo et al., 2015; Fu et al., 2016; Hagner et al., 2009; Neasta, Ben Hamida, Yowell, Carnicella, & Ron, 2010; Spanos, Besheer, & Hodge, 2012) and implicated in neural and behavioral pathology associated with neurodegeneration, suggesting that this cell signaling pathway may be a target of alcohol in the development and expression of AD.
